Buddleia plant named ‘Glass Slippers’

ABSTRACT

Buddleia  ‘Glass Slipper’ is a short, mounded, multi-stemmed, winter-hardy butterfly bush plant with long, compact, self-cleaning flowering thyrse over a long season beginning mid-summer with sweetly-fragrant pale periwinkle flowers that are attractively offset by silvery green foliage.

Botanical classification: Buddleia hybrid (L.)

Variety denomination: ‘Glass Slippers’.

BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to the new and distinct winter-hardy butterfly bush plant, Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’ as a single seedling among thousands of seeds collected by the inventor in the summer of 2011 at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The new plant, originally labeled with the breeder code H11-20-03, is from an open pollination of an unreleased proprietary hybrid Buddleia named HK10-212-01 (not patented) as the female or seed parent. The male parent is unknown.

Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’ was first asexually propagated in 2012 by stem cuttings at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The resultant asexually propagated plants have been found to be stable and true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’ has not been made publically available nor sold more than a year prior to the filing of this application. All disclosures have either been obtained directly or indirectly from the inventor.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PLANT

Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’ differs from its parents as well as all other winter-hardy butterfly bush plants known to the applicant in many traits. The foliage color of ‘Glass Slippers’ is silvery green with icy, light periwinkle blue flowers. The leaf size of ‘Glass Slippers’ is variable, depending on the position on the stem. Largest leaves are lower on the stem and decrease in size distally. Compared to the proprietary female parent, HK10-212-01, ‘Glass Slippers’ is more compact in habit and has lighter colored flowers.

The nearest comparison plants include: Buddleia ‘Podaras #8’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,069 (more commonly known as ‘Butterfly Heaven’), ‘Blue Heaven’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,935, ‘Lilac Chip’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 24,016, ‘Blue Chip’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,991 and ‘Blue Chip Jr’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,581. The flowers of ‘Glass Slippers’ are lighter than any of the comparison varieties and do not produce anthers. The habit of ‘Glass Slippers’ is more mounded than ‘Blue Chip’ and ‘Blue Heaven’, and it is taller than ‘Blue Chip Jr’ and ‘Podaras #8’ and shorter than ‘Blue Chip’, ‘Butterfly Heaven’ and ‘Lilac Chip’.

The following Table 1 further demonstrates some comparisons with the new plant and the nearest comparison cultivars at three-years old.

TABLE 1 Leaf Flower Size CULTIVAR color color Habit (H × W) ‘Blue Chip’ green blue upright 110 cm × 100 cm ‘Blue Chip Jr’ green blue-purple low mound 80 cm × 125 cm ‘Butterfly green lilac-purple upright 180 cm × 120 cm Heaven’ ‘Glass silvery pale mounded 135 cm × 150 cm Slippers’ green periwinkle ‘Lilac Chip’ green purplish- broad 80 cm × 125 cm pink mound ‘Podaras #8’ light green lavender mounded 90 cm × 95 cm

Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’ is a unique winter-hardy butterfly bush different from all other Buddleia cultivars known to the inventor based on the following combined traits:

-   -   1. Winter-hardy shrub, with multiple-stemmed, branched, short,         mounded habit.     -   2. Many-flowered compact thyrse over a prolonged season         beginning mid-summer.     -   3. Flowers of pale periwinkle petals.     -   4. Elliptic to lanceolate foliage of silvery green.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the overall appearance of the plant, including the unique traits. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color.

FIG. 1 shows a close-up of the flowers.

FIG. 2 shows the habit of a three-year-old plant in mid-season flowering.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2001 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where common dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Buddleia ‘Glass Slippers’, has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are of three-year-old plants in the loamy-sand, full-sun, field trials at a nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental fertilizer and water as needed. The plants are natural habit and were not treated with plant growth regulators, nor were they pinched at any time in the growth year except to cut back woody stems to about 15 cm tall in fall or early spring to promote new growth and flowering.

-   Parentage: Proprietary hybrid #HK10-212-01 (not patented) as the     female or pod parent times an unknown open-pollination as the male     or pollen parent. -   Propagation:     -   -   Method.—Softwood cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots.—About two weeks.         -   Rooting habit.—Normal, dense and thick at base to about 1.5             cm diameter; fibrous, branching.         -   Root color.—Creamy white between RHS 159A and lighter than             RHS 159 D depending on soil type; becoming woody to 1.5 cm             diameter.         -   Crop time.—Under normal summer growing conditions 12 to 16             weeks to flower in a four-liter container from cutting.             Plant vigor is very good. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant shape and habit.—Winter-hardy, herbaceous, semi-woody,             well-branched shrub with about 14 thick upright and branched             main stems producing an upright mound about 135 cm tall and             about 150 cm wide.         -   Stem.—Rounded and woody in lower portion rounded in cross             section with exfoliating bark; younger upper portion             puberulent and quadrangular in cross section; strong and             flexible; average about 41 cm tall from soil line to just             below first flower branches, and about 1.2 cm diameter at             the base; before distal flowers about 13 branches per main             stem extending at about 35° to 45° angle from horizontal.         -   Stem color.—Just below expanding leaves lighter than RHS             192D and RHS 196C with slight tinting of nearest RHS 176B,             midway up stem nearest RHS 145D with tinting of nearest RHS             176B and striated in about basal 12 cm with fissures of             nearest RHS 165D and between RHS 165A and RHS 165B.         -   Plant size.—Unpinched plant with stems flowering to about             135 cm tall; overall plant about 150 cm wide.         -   Internode.—About 15 nodes per stem, average internode length             about 7.0 cm on unpinched plant; upper nodes more pubescent             than lower nodes.         -   Node color.—Same color as surrounding stem to slightly more             tinted with RHS 178B. -   Foliage description: Opposite, decussate; serrulate; puberulent     abaxial and adaxial becoming more glabrous on adaxial surface as the     leaves age; elliptic to lanceolate with attenuate base and acute to     narrowly acute apex; no foliar fragrance detected.     -   -   Leaf blade size.—To about 14.0 cm long and about 5.0 cm             wide, average about 13.0 cm long and about 4.5 cm wide;             becoming smaller in distal portion of stem.         -   Foliage color.—Young expanding leaf adaxial side nearest RHS             138B and abaxial lighter than RHS 192D and RHS 196C; mature             leaves adaxial side between RHS 139A and RHS 137A and             abaxial and lighter than RHS 193D.         -   Veins.—Reticulate; abaxial raised, adaxial slightly             impressed, puberulent abaxial and adaxial becoming glabrous             adaxial.         -   Vein color.—Young expanding adaxial and abaxial same color             as surrounding leaf; mature leaf adaxial main vein nearest             RHS 145C and lateral veins same color as surround leaf,             abaxial main vein nearest RHS N144A and lateral veins             between RHS 145A and RHS 145B.         -   Petioles.—Glaucous and glabrous adaxial, pubescent abaxial;             flatted partially top to bottom; average about 1.0 cm long             and about 2.0 mm wide at the point of attachment to stem.         -   Petiole color.—Adaxial margins nearest RHS 139B and center             vein nearest between RHS 147D and RHS 145C, abaxial nearest             RHS 145D. -   Inflorescence description: Glomerate thyrse consisting of about 600     self-cleaning, tightly-congested, salverform flowers; to about 33.5     cm long and 7.0 cm wide; beginning in mid-July and continuing until     late October in Michigan.     -   -   Buds.—Narrowly spatulate, apex rounded; one day prior to             opening about 8.0 mm long and about 3.0 mm in diameter in             club, tube portion about 1.0 mm diameter and about 6.0 mm             long.         -   Bud color.—Nearest RHS 85A in club portion, and tube nearest             RHS N77B; buds about three days from opening nearest RHS 77B             in the club and nearest RHS N82B in the tube.         -   Sepals.—Typically four, proximal two-thirds connate             adpressed to corolla tube; acute apex; glabrous adaxial and             pubescent abaxial; margin entire, edentate; fused in about             the basal 1.5 mm and split in about the terminal 1.0 mm;             forming a corolla about 4.0 mm long and about 1.5 mm across;             individually less than about 1.0 mm wide at point of fusion.         -   Sepal color.—Adaxial nearest RHS 144D, abaxial between RHS             144A and RHS 144B; abaxial between RHS N77A and RHS N79A in             regions of intense light exposure.         -   Flowers fragrance.—Pleasantly and distinctly sweet.         -   Petals.—Four; glabrous; fused into salverform with typically             straight cylindrical tube about 7.0 mm long and 1.5 mm             diameter, and a flattened face about 7.0 mm across; petal             blade rounded with crenate margin; blade to about 2.5 mm             across and about 3.0 mm long from fused face; center             flattened face portion of blade fused about 1.5 mm.         -   Petal color.—Adaxial center between RHS 28B and RHS N25A in             the tube, fading or lightening to just before the face of a             thin irregular band of less than 0.5 mm width of between RHS             17B and RHS 17C, adaxial face blades between RHS 85A and RHS             92C; abaxial tube between RHS 53A and RHS 53B and abaxial             petal blades nearest RHS 85A.         -   Gynoecium.—Pistil: one; about 3.5 mm long; Style: short,             round, glabrous; about 1.5 mm long and less than 0.2 mm             diameter; color nearest RHS 144D; Stigma: oblong, minutely             puberulent; about 1.0 mm in long and about 0.7 mm diameter;             color nearest RHS 143B; Ovary: superior; globose; about 1.0             mm across at base and 1.0 mm tall; distally tapering to             style; color between RHS 144C and RHS 144D.         -   Androecium.—Not observed in any flowers examined; Anthers:             not observed; Pollen: not observed.         -   Pedicel.—Short, puberulent; about 2.0 mm long and about 0.5             mm diameter; color between RHS 144A and RHS 138B with dark             speckling of nearest RHS N187A.         -   Peduncle.—Quadrangular, pubescent, flexible and strong; to             about 33.5 cm long and about 3.5 mm across just below             flowers.         -   Peduncle color.—Between RHS 148D and RHS 148C.         -   Fruit.—Moderate fruit set; oblong with acute apex; glabrous,             bi-valved, septicidal capsule; about 8.0 mm long and about             3.0 mm diameter.         -   Fruit color.—As maturing between RHS 187B and RHS 187C; when             mature and dehiscing between RHS 177B and RHS 177C.         -   Seed.—Elongated ellipse with sharply acute ends; less than             about 2.0 mm long and about 0.1 mm diameter in center.         -   Seed color.—Nearest RHS 200A. -   Disease resistance: Resistance to deer browsing has been observed.     Further resistance beyond that of other known winter-hardy butterfly     bush cultivars has not been noted. The plant grows best with plenty     of moisture and adequate drainage, but is able to tolerate some     drought when mature. Hardiness at least from USDA zone 6 through 10. 

I claim:
 1. A new cultivar of winter-hardy butterfly bush Buddleia plant named ‘Glass Slippers’ as herein illustrated and described, suitable for potted plant culture, landscaping as a specimen or en masse or for cut flower purposes. 